Tag Archives: kekova

Turkey was one of my favourite trips, this country was so amazing to visit. Considering we planned it last minute, the trip ran very smoothly. Turkish people are so friendly and helpful and the transportation is very efficient made it easy to get around (though not always the most comfortable!). I loved the beautiful, busy, chaos of Istanbul, the history of Selcuk, relaxing along the coast in Fathiye, sea kayaking in Kas, mountain biking to the eternal flame in Cirali and hot air ballooning in Goreme…and eating delicious food wherever we went! This trip had it all and I would love to go back there someday. To see how we toured Turkey in 2 Weeks, check out the links below. They link to each day of our trip – what we ate, where we stayed and what we saw. I highly recommend…everything! *For more detailed reviews of the hotels we stayed at you can check out my Trip Advisor profile.

I’m happy that my boyfriend and I picked this country as our first “big” trip together. We’re an outdoorsy couple who love to eat and explore so Turkey was a perfect destination for us. If you’re looking for a little bit of history, a big dose of interesting culture, loads of good food, some relaxation along with an amazing adventure, then I highly recommend you visit this beautiful country!

How We Toured Turkey in 2 Weeks. Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey

If you have any questions about our trip to Turkey, please comment below!

One of the first activities that caught my eye when I was researching Turkey was sea kayaking through the Sunken City of Simena. The ruins line the northern shore of the long island of Kekova and were the result of a series of earthquakes that occurred in 2nd century AD. We booked our tour through Lukka Tours/Bougainville Travel for 60 CND (120 TL) and ended up on the same bus as the Intrepid group I had originally seen the kayaking tour listed – I guess we made a good choice!

We were picked up from their office in central Kas bright and early and headed out to the docks where we were outfitted and given a quick lesson. The day was perfect – sunny, with a cool breeze in the air and sparkling, calm waters.

Sea kayakying to Kekova

We kayaked for about an hour and half out to the island of Kekova where we could see the partly submerged ruins along the shore and up to 6m below our boats.

The sunken city of Simena – think this might have been the harbour

Kekova & the sunken city of Simena

Kekova & the sunken city of Simena

Church in the sunken city of Simena

After exploring the Sunken City, we kayaked to the protected village on the site of Simena called Kaleköy. We spent a few hours hiking up to the Crusader fortress, followed by a delicious kebob lunch and a quick dip in the warm, shallow waters before heading back to the mainland.

Kaleköy

Crusader fortress, Kaleköy

View from the Crusader fortress, Kaleköy

Crusader fortress, Kaleköy

Crusader fortress, Kaleköy

Kaleköy

We had another beautiful sunset for our last evening in Kas. For dinner we went to Smiley’s, a laid back outdoor restaurant near the outskirts of town overlooking the water. Our octopus casserole and lamb liver dishes were excellent, and were even more satisfying after a day of kayaking.

Kas

Octopus casserole, Smiley’s, Kas

Lamb liver, Smiley’s, Kas

Such a lovely town, we were very sad to say goodbye to Kas! But we felt relaxed and revived for our last leg of our trip.

Greetings & salutations! My name is Paula and I love to write, eat brains, watch scary movies and make fake blood. I'm always on the lookout for my next adventure, and preparing for the zombie apocalypse.